Max Skladanowsky(1863-1939)

Max Skladanowsky was a German inventor and early filmmaker. Born as the fourth child of glazier Carl Theodor Skladanowsky and Luise Auguste Ernestine Skladanowsky, he was apprenticed as a photographer and glass painter, which led to an interest in magic lanterns. In 1879, he began to tour Germany and Central Europe with his father Carl and elder brother Emil Skladanowsky, giving dissolving magic lantern shows. While Emil mostly took care of promotion, Max was mostly involved with the technology, and on 20 August 1892 he constructed their first film camera, but this more likely happened in the summer or autumn of 1894. He also single-handedly constructed the Bioskop projector, with which after shooting several short films the brothers would provide motion picture shows. Between the years 1895 and 1905, the brothers directed at least 25 to 30 short movies.